Italian horticultural businesses are stepping up their focus on the UK ornamental market, highlighting both the scale of British plant demand and the continuing importance of trade and plant-health arrangements between the UK and Europe.
A delegation of 16 Italian horticultural companies visited the UK in early September as part of a trade mission organised by the Italian Trade Agency and the Italian Embassy in London, working alongside the Italian Association of Nursery Stock Exporters (ANVE) and the Horticultural Trades Association.
The delegation visited the Four Oaks Trade Show in Cheshire, as well as a number of UK horticultural businesses, with participating companies representing a broad range of ornamental production. Their portfolios included Mediterranean and exotic plants, ornamental trees, citrus, olives, perennials, ornamental grasses, bonsai, cacti, succulents and other nursery stock.
The visit comes as official figures show just how significant the UK ornamental market remains.
According to the latest UK Government horticulture statistics, the value of UK ornamental production reached £1.62 billion in 2025, although this represented a 2% decline compared with 2024. Hardy ornamental nursery stock accounted for around £1.11 billion, while pot plants were valued at £347 million and flowers and bulbs at £158 million.
At the same time, ornamental imports increased. Defra recorded £1.55 billion of ornamental imports in 2025, up 6.4% year on year. Outdoor plant imports increased particularly sharply, rising from £149 million in 2024 to £208 million in 2025.
The figures underline the scale of the international supply chain supporting the British ornamental sector. The Netherlands and Ireland were each responsible for 14% of the value of UK ornamental imports in 2025, followed by Kenya at 10%, according to Defra.
Italy is also an established supplier to the UK market. During the first half of 2026, Italian exports of live plants to the UK were valued at approximately £29.2 million, according to figures cited by the Italian Embassy, representing a 2.8% increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
For commercial growers, however, the story is about more than market opportunity. The movement of live plants between Britain and the EU continues to involve significant plant-health and border requirements.
During the September trade mission, representatives from the Italian delegation met with Defra, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, the HTA and Italian industry representatives to discuss nursery-stock trade, phytosanitary requirements and the potential implications of a future UK-EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement.
The UK and EU have been working towards closer arrangements covering sanitary and phytosanitary measures, with the horticulture industry particularly interested in whether future arrangements could make the movement of plants and plant products more efficient while maintaining plant-health protections.
For UK growers, international sourcing remains an important part of the commercial landscape. The HTA has previously highlighted the close relationship between British production and European plant supply, noting that around 80% of its member businesses import plant material from outside the UK.
The latest trade activity therefore illustrates a market with two interconnected sides: British growers continuing to produce a substantial volume of ornamental plants and trees, while retailers, garden centres, landscapers and other buyers also rely on international supply.
That balance could become increasingly important as growers respond to changing consumer demand, climate conditions, labour costs and the need for greater production efficiency.
The latest Defra figures also show that UK ornamental exports remain comparatively small. Exports were worth £59 million in 2025, up from £49 million in 2024, compared with £1.55 billion of imports.
For the UK ornamental industry, the figures provide a clear indication of the scale of the opportunity — and the competitive pressure — within the international plant market.
As European suppliers continue to target the British market and discussions around future UK-EU trading arrangements progress, plant health, logistics and the cost of moving nursery stock across borders are likely to remain important issues for commercial growers on both sides of the Channel.
Sources: DEFRA, Italian Embassy, HTA
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